


It Was A Mistake

by EstelleDusk



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Chamiko, F/M, Gen, M/M, Most ships are one-sided, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-23
Updated: 2013-12-28
Packaged: 2017-12-30 05:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1014600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstelleDusk/pseuds/EstelleDusk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of drabbles, ficlets, one-shots, and short stories surrounding Chase Young and the Hoduku Mouse which changes any mistake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hoduku Mouse

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to this collection of drabbles, ficlets, one-shots, and short stories surrounding the idea that the Hoduku Mouse that fell in lava in the very episode it aired in before even being used, was in fact a fake. AND that Chase has been in possession of the real one for a VERY long time. Each chapter will not likely be in chronological order or will even make sense until Chase uses the Wu to set time straight and make everything more like the episodes that aired. Pairings in this series can and will be almost anything, including the not-so-popular but lovely ship Chamiko but excluding the apparently popular romantic ship ChaseOmi. A short chapter summary will be given every time. Sporadic updates to be expected. Projected number of chapters to be one for every episode plus this initial one, in other words, minimum 53.
> 
> Chapter Summary: Chase confronts Dashi about what he believes is a very dangerous Shen Gong Wu, the Hoduku Mouse.

"Yes, Chase?" The tall man, with strange yellow skin and an obloid head, turns his head to face his friend, though his body is still turned in the direction he was walking.

Chase, tall and thin, with long black thick hair, and clad in soft blue robes, stops running when he reaches his friend. His face is twisted into an expression of extreme worry. "Dashi, my friend, this Wu you've made, the one that can fix  _any_  mistake, it's too powerful. You can't just hide it in the hopes no one will ever find it, you must destroy it. Who knows what will happen if it falls into the wrong hands."

Dashi grins at his friend and turns around to fully face him. "I know. That's why I've already hidden the real one without letting Dojo know. Now I'm going to find Dojo so we can hide this fake Hoduku Mouse." Chase's confusion is obvious and Dashi laughs at his confused expression. After a hearty laugh at his friend's expense, the creator of the Shen Gong Wu wipes away an imaginary tear and places his hands on his friend's shoulders.

"My friend. I'm entrusting the Hoduku Mouse to you. After you make what you may very well consider one of the biggest mistakes of your life, that's when you'll find where I've hid it. You hate the Shen Gong Wu, I know, that no matter who you become, that fact will stay the same. Which means that this very special Shen Gong Wu will always be safe with you. You and I will be the only ones to ever know the one I'll be hiding today is a fake. It's safest this way, my friend."

Chase immediately sees a flaw in this plan. "If you trust me with it, then why don't you just give it to me now? Why hide it and a fake?"

Dashi sighs and bows his head. "Because the mistake you'll make before you find where I've hidden it, is a necessary mistake according to what I've seen with the Sands of Time. And if you ever hold the real Hoduku Mouse before you make this mistake, then you'll be able to undo your mistake. You see, although the Mouse is very powerful, it can only take you back in time to another point where you have the Mouse.

"If it really could fix any mistake, then I would have used it by now to fix the mistake of creating it. But I can't do that, so I'll have to trust that my very honourable friend, Chase Young, will keep the Hoduku Mouse a well-guarded secret." Dashi gives Chase another grin, a slightly grimmer one, that Chase hesitantly returns, despite his misgivings.

Ten years later, after joining the Heylin side, casting Hannibal Roy Bean into the Ying Yang world, and witnessing Dashi's death, Chase was getting bored of living no where. So he began to reign control of certain lands that he then humorously named the Land of Nowhere. Within these lands of his, he finally found the perfect mountain to begin building his home.

After a few short hours of digging, he finds a box buried in the mountain. It has his name carved on the lid, and he thinks he knows exactly what he's about to find. Reaching into his armor, he pulls out a small silver key and inserts it to the obvious keyhole on the side.

He cracks open the chest and finds a note and a cloth-wrapped bundle. As he begins to read the note, he begins to laugh out of disbelief. Dashi had known for who knows how long that Chase would end up becoming Heylin. And he still thought the safest place for this Shen Gong Wu was with him. According to the note, Dashi knew a lot more than he had let on.

_Chase,_

_I'm sorry I never told you what would happen, but I kept silent for the fate of the balance you would always go on about when we were younger and that I only learned to respect after seeing many different futures. Some were much worse than others, obviously. But here's one thing I can tell you about the future. 1500 years from now, when the Xiaolin Temple finally accepts it's first female Dragon-in-Training after Wuya, there will be a boy that will be able to return you to the Xiaolin side._

_His death will not stop your return to the Xiaolin side, and in fact, you won't remain a Xiaolin monk for long after the boy manages the feat. Just 1500 years. He will change time, he will make it so that you never drank the Lao Mang Long soup. But Guan will drink it instead. He will take your place and you will take his, but with one major difference._

_You, the greatest warrior of all time, will fall in love with someone on the Xiaolin side. And when the boy tries to change time once again, you will be faced with a choice. Remain a Xiaolin Warrior and have a love that will last forever. Or once again become a Heylin Warrior and the possessor of the Hoduku Mouse._

_Another change between the two universes, will be the fact that Guan, under Hannibal's thumb, will never build a home on the earth you've upturned. He's always been a wanderer, so he will never find the Mouse and the Mouse will always be lost._

_And that's about all I needed to tell you...oh yeah! One more thing. Remember the New Year's where you woke up short a couple feet of hair? Yeah, that was me._

_-Dashi :D_

_P.S. In the future :D is something called an emoticon and that particular one represents someone (me) grinning at you. See, turn it sideways and it's a happy face._

Chase has a dangerous grin as his hands crumble the paper. He reaches into the box and slips the still wrapped Hoduku Mouse into his armor. "Dashi, you magnificent bastard. If I ever find out you faked your death, I'll make sure your real one is extra painful."


	2. Love The Perfume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase makes a drastic mistake during the Xiaolin Showdown for the Cannon Blaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one made me sad...and in fact, I wrote it before I wrote chapter 1, it just took me a while to transfer it from paper to computer. Also, hints of Chamiko.

Chase grins widely and even Hannibal gives a happy laugh. Chase rises from his follow-through after knocking Jack Spicer off the pillar with a fatal strike to his solar plexus. He heard the bones cracking the instant the hit connected. For the split second Chase was close enough, he had been close enough to smell flowers on the evil genius and couldn't help but wonder if he had recently hugged the Dragon of Fire.

He hears the Xiaolin monks cry in horror when Spicer's broken body hit the ground, but he can't figure out for the life of him why they would suddenly care about the boy genius, so he ignores them and finishes off his fight with Hannibal. The instant the fight is over, the bean flees, knowing that even though Chase is weakened, he now has, as far as Hannibal knew, four Shen Gong Wu that could more than make up for his current lack of power.

Chase smirks as the arena returns to normal and his old foe runs away. Then his gaze strays to the crying monks as they bend over Spicer's broken body as he gasps in pain with every breath. He notes that the Dragon of Fire is missing and frowns as he finally speaks to them. "I can't see why you're worrying over that pitiful worm, shouldn't you be more concerned with your missing monk?"

The Dragon of Wind glares at him in seething rage. "You killed her! She's dying because of you!"

Chase is taken aback as the others join the chorus in blaming him for something he doesn't understand. It's only when the dragon that almost became dinner pulls up the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman that he begins to understand. When the Xiaolin monks ask the Blind Swordsman to reverse what he did, and when he sees a second Jack Spicer stumble out from behind a boulder is when Chase truly understands just what his fierceness has done.

His eyes widen in horror when the broken Spicer turns into a broken Dragon of Fire before his eyes. He watches as the real Spicer stumbles over to them in shock and asks what happened. The boy genius is told that it's all Chase's fault, and the Heylin Warrior refuses to disagree.

He should have known when Spicer seemed suddenly competant. He should have guessed when he noticed the young monks were cheering for Spicer. He should have known from the many times he noted the flowery scent on the "boy" he was fighting. He should have known from the usage of her usual PDA in Spicer's hands instead of her own.

There were so many signs! _He should have known!_  But he ignored all the signs in favor of finally being rid of Spicer. Chase frowns as he takes a step towards the monks and Spicer. They yell for him to get lost, but he pushes them aside when they try to to forcibly move him. He kneels down next to the Dragon of Fire and calls upon his Heylin magic to try and heal her.

Nothing he casts works and he curses. "Damn it, Kimiko!" The many letters Dashi had hidden in the mountainside Chase built his citadel in had hinted at how important the Dragon of Fire would be to him. His old friend never directly said what she would be to him, but it wasn't that difficult to figure it out. Only a handful of women were ever mentioned in the letters and only one of them was even physically attrative to him, despite her age.

"Oh, so you do know our names besides Omi's? Now could you get away from her!" The Dragon of Wind demands as he shoves the Heylin man.

Chase growls for them to shut up as he quickly stands and takes a few steps away. His back is to the monks and he frowns. His left hand reaches for the gauntlet on his right arm and hesitates just above touching it. This time...this time he's made a very grievous mistake. One he could have easily avoided.

"I'm sorry," is the last thing he says before he activates the Hoduku Mouse and transports himself back to earlier that day. In the blink of an eye, he finds himself once more walking in a dessert with his jungle cats, towards the Cannon Blaster Shen Gong Wu and Hannibal Bean. He allows events to take place as they did before, but he keeps a sharper look out for the moment Kimiko changes places with Spicer. When he realizes it's happened, he softens his blows, though he makes it seem like they carry the same amount of usual force.

And this time, when the three of them end up in a Xiaolin Showdown, he allows Kimiko to manipulate himself and Hannibal into focusing their fight on each other. When he sees the chance for the match to end earlier than it did before, he takes it. He falls from the pillar with the barest of smirks.

The showdown ends and Hannibal runs away again. But this time, "Jack Spicer" touches ground next to the cheering Xiaolin monks and Chase pretends he didn't hear the Dragon of Wind's accidental slip about the fake Jack's gender. Chase makes sure his voice is as haunty as normal. "I'm surprised, Spicer."

He walks over to the fake Spicer and leans in close to her with a frown to show his displeasure at their belief that they could pull the wool over his eyes. "Surprised, but never fooled." For a second, he takes a deep breath of the wonderful scent of sakura blossoms surrounding the girl. He grins but quickly turns it into a smirk.

"By the way, love the perfume."


	3. Spiders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the only days Chase decides not to use the Hoduku Mouse, is the day the fake one activates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit...iffy, and I'm not entirely satisfied. In fact I think I should have cut it a few paragraphs short but I also felt that I shouldn't, you get me?

What seems like an earthquake causes Chase Young to put down his daily Lao Mang Long soup. He growls as he calls out for Wuya to explain. When she nervously pops out her head around the doorway and quickly explains what happened at the "center of the earth" with Jack, the Hoduku Mouse, and the ancient, giant, all-consuming spiders that were released, he grits his teeth and passes an order along his Jungle Cats.

"Get me Spicer, NOW!"

While he waits for the self-proclaimed evil boy genius, he stiffly sits down in his dining chair and tries his best not to let his claws scratch at the chair arms he's clutching tightly. This chair isn't as strong as his throne, so he needs to be more careful. He should have paid more attention to the hag when she was yelling about a new Shen Gong Wu earlier. Now, he needed to get down there and use the real Hoduku Mouse at the same time the fake is used, as per Dashi's rules in one of the letters he left.

Stupid Dashi...why did he have to make the fake more or less act like a real Shen Gong Wu and actually  _activate_  despite doing nothing? How was he supposed to get the real Hoduku Mouse a secret if the fake one was up for grabs? He had to destroy the fake somehow once they used it to lock up the spiders once more. He supposes, since they'll be surrounded by lava, he could just steal it from Spicer or whoever will have it and just throw it in one of the lavapools. And if anyone asks, he supposes he can tell a half-truth.

As Wuya and Chase tell the towel-clad, sudsy albino their plan to go with Spicer to retrieve the mouse, Chase is very careful not to say the full name. He hadn't had the time or privacy needed to remove the Hoduku Mouse from his right sleeve. And more importantly, if he isn't holding onto someone when they use it, then this unfortunate scene will just repeat itself until he makes sure someone has the fake mouse before the spiders are released.

True, he could just use the mouse and go down there when the hag starts screaming about the mouse again, but he would be sleeping at that time after a long day of training and plotting and would need his beauty sleep. Not to mention he didn't feel like having a Xiaolin Showdown that early in the morning. So his current plan will have to do nicely for now.

Of course, later on, when Chase is slowly making his way over to the gloating Spicer with the Hoduku Mouse, the spiders come again and cause the worm to drop the fake on the ground. Initially, he sees this as helpful, despite the huge spiders on top of the fake. Then the ground beneath them opens up and everyone has to jump away to avoid falling into lava with the "Hoduku Mouse." He resists the urge to facepalm once he realizes that he and Omi are separated from the rest.

When the Dragon of Fire throws the Golden Tiger Claws at them both, he decides not to use the real Hoduku Mouse. He could use this to his advantage, he thinks as Omi opens up a portal for them both to get away. Once on the surface, the child looks around and starts to despair at seeing the millions of holes caused by the spiders. But Chase didn't get where he was today by not having a back-up plan or ten. Not to mention,  _everything_ can be used as an opportune moment to turn the boy to the Heylin side.

He begins to speak his plan aloud, of course keeping the more unsavory and secret bits to himself. The monks have the Fountain of Hui; he has the Eagle Scope. Both can be used to discover a way to destroy the spiders. And should Omi peek at a way to destroy evil like Chase believes the naive boy would, then that's nothing a small show of the Reversing Mirror can't fix.

As the day continues, this time, according to his plan, Chase keeps pulling his arms apart and has to stop himself from muttering the Shen Gong Wu's name. He realizes how dependant he's become on this one Shen Gong Wu over the many, many years he's had it. On a normal day, he would have used it at least once by now. That's why he tries not to use too many of the others. He doesn't need anymore crutches.

When Chase leaves the monks at the geyser, he takes notice of their reactions when they thought the others weren't looking. The Dragon of Earth would chuckle to himself and mumble something Chase couldn't quite hear. The Dragon of Wind's arrogant face would slip and turn nervous for a split second before he returned to his usual expression. The Dragon of Fire would stop smiling and her thoughts would obviously turn inward in worry. The Dragon of Water would do the same, only he would look around as he thought. And the dragon he tried to eat would give curious, accusatory looks to the Dragon of Water.

"Interesting...perhaps it is nearly time. All I need now is the Ying Yo-Yo..." Chase ponders to himself as he teleports back home to his citadel.


	4. Houpu Magnolia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Heylin Seed is a powerful thing...ever wonder why we didn't see Chase there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...you know what? Don't even ask where this one came from, but I guess I felt somewhere in my lil' black shrivel'd 'eart that you guys needed something a bit funny after Chapter 2's downer, ne?

If someone had told him, that the Heylin Seed's pollen would not only turn a person and their clothing and hair into a plant, but would also render the Shen Gong Wu on that person utterly useless, Chase would have said that it served the person right for relying on those crutches. He would have said that, if he wasn't currently on the plant-side of the whole thing and currently being pruned by the Xiaolin monks that didn't get hit with the Heylin Seed's spores yet.

"Hey! Watch it with those shears!" He barks at the pretty little Dragon of Fire. The Dragon of Wind refused to get too close to him, so he volunteered his spitfire of a friend, and handed her a watering can and shears before shoving her close to him.

This was really unbelievable... Okay, so Chase forgot that despite the Heylin Seed being a very powerful artifact of evil, the last person to use the Moonstone Locust on it, was him. He should have guessed that the crummy seed would remember him and immediately turn on him if he showed his face. But no, Chase thought he could control the tumbleweed since he was the most powerful warrior in the world and especially on the Heylin side.

Now he's stuck at the Xiaolin Temple and silently fuming. Spicer has the upper-hand. Half the Dragons-In-Training, including their Master and the dragon Chase tried to eat, are plants. He is a plant. That last thought makes him groan aloud and close his eyes. Chase Young, Prince of Darkness, Greatest Warrior in the World on either side, is a  _freaking_  magnolia tree! And in bloom too!

He glares at the young Dragon of Fire. "If I am forced to remain like this for too long, then I don't care if you or your boyfriend start having allergies or panic attacks, you will  _not_  be stripping me of my bark for medicinal use. Understand?"

"Okay, okay, geez, don't get your panties in a bunch," she rolls her eyes and carefully trims the stray leaves around his pants while muttering under her breath, apparently not realizing the man...plant in front of her still has working ears... _somehow_. "What happened to the calm, collected villain that tried to eat Dojo and who replaced him with this drama queen?"

"Chase Young wears panties?!" Comes Omi's surprised exclamation, causing everyone present to groan before the cowboy informs the child of a little something called a figure of speech.

Later on, when the Dragon of Wind manages to use the Moonstone Locust on the Heylin Seed, returning everyone to their natural forms, he gives the Brazilian a brisk thanks before using the Hoduku Mouse. Using a dummy account, he lets it slip on the internet in the evil circles that the monks have the seed and were planning to take it with them to the beach. Then he relaxes on his throne with a bowl of Lao Mang Long soup, and prepares to enjoy the show.

This time from a safe distance away using his All Seeing Eye.


	5. Screams of the Siren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase really hates mermaids, but there were times when they could be useful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used a random number generator to tell me which episode to give you guys next. Now then, if you squint your eyes, most near the end, you might notice some language normally used in Chack fics, that is intentional. I did say there might be one-sided Chack in this story after all. But it's so subtle, I don't think you would notice if I hadn't pointed it out.

Mermaids...

Was there anything Chase hated more than mermaids? Oh yes, Hannibal Bean, how could he forget about that vegetable? He didn't always hate mermaids. There was a time...1500 years ago, when he had met a mermaid and his first instinct hadn't been to chop off her head. But that was when he was young, stupid, and prone to believing any pretty face that complimented him. He likes to believe he's grown up since then.

But he obviously hasn't since he's had to redo this day quite a few times by now. The first time the Xiaolin Monks had fought Spicer for the Gills of Hamachi, and discovered Dyris and Klofange, Chase had been watching them from a small distance away. He laughed at the Dragon of Water who turned out to not be very graceful on his frozen element. And he nodded appraisingly at Spicer's apparent skill on the ice. He always believed that a good warrior would be prepared for anything, that included being able to brave the elements and hold your own. So on the Heylin Dragon's mental checklist for who to make his apprentice, Spicer received a few points and Omi lost a few. The big headed child did however regain those lost points when he collapsed the iceberg and retrieved the Shen Gong Wu.

Chase had been prepared to leave at that point, not interested in the after-battle antics the group normally got into. But then he noticed the half-frozen girl floating towards the monks. He stared curiously at the beautiful girl and then noticed her attire. He growled then and barely registered that the monks had also noticed the girl then. Chase wasn't sure what he could do, he knew if he just attacked the seashell-clad girl out of no where, the monks would attack him thinking she was an innocent. So he stood there, growling and clutching his hands tightly, waiting for the opportune moment to kill her.

He scoffed when he heard the Dragon of Wind pull a macho guy act to impress the unconcious mermaid and laughed when the boy was shoved into the icy water. For a moment, he entertained the idea that something would eat him before he reached the mermaid, and he was disappointed when the young dragon reached her without a scratch or bite and shakily chopped the ice hiding her tail from the group. He frowned as he noticed the _boys_  immediately fall to her siren spell. Even Spicer, who was hovering some distance away with his Helipack, was staring at the beast with lovesick eyes.

Then Klofange had revealed himself and Chase had to shake his head in mock pity. The beast-hunter was the same as he remembered, acting first and thinking later, which, admittedly, is normally the best tactic against mermaids, except when they're surrounded by Xiaolin monks who will  _always_  help whomever they perceive as weak and needing help. When he saw the dragons-in-training fight off Klofange and figure out a way to bring the siren with them, he was glad to note that the young Dragon of Fire wasn't being taken in by her siren spell. That meant there would be at least one person at the temple that would see reason, if he calmly explained that mermaids are monsters, and could they move aside so he could kill her, please?

Yes, that's what he'll do, he'll make his way to the Xiaolin Temple and explain to the young dragon what the true situation was. Chase thought it was a brilliant idea, but he forgot that there would be lovesick boys to defend her. After his initial plan failed horribly, he used the Hoduku Mouse and tried again, with a different plan. Each plan he made would fail and he would get more and more irritated. So in the end, he used the mouse to return to the very beginning of the day. Then he resolved to not even bother going anywhere near the monks until the siren was either dead or trapped in ice again.

The only good thing that came out of this ordeal, he thought, was that he received plenty of information on the Xiaolin Monks and Spicer. The Dragon of Earth, despite his growing power, would be of no use to Chase in his plans. The Dragon of Wind, could be useful if only for the fact that he was easily tricked. The Dragon of Fire had a powerful temper and didn't sway her opinions easily, but she was already closer to the Heylin side than her friends, if only because of how little she was appreciated there. The Dragon of Water was gullible, powerful, egotistical, and honorable those were traits that could be manipulated to Chase's liking. Of course there was also the fact that he was the Chosen One, but the Heylin prince tried not to put too much stock in such prophecies this early in the game.

Then there was Spicer...that worm would latch onto the nearest, evilest thing he could find. But he was highly intelligent and diligent in his work if his robots and the submarine were anything to judge by, and that would be very useful to Chase in the future. He'd just have to figure out a way to make the worm more loyal...yes, he could be used splendidly in his plans. And he seemed to have an attachment to the Monkey Staff; Chase wondered if Spicer would last long enough to make it to the year of the Green Monkey. Perhaps he should try to subtly make sure of that?

In the mean time, now that Dyris has been locked away in the ice again, Chase needs to make a stop back in that frozen wasteland. He was running low on certain hard-to-find potion ingredients...


	6. TaT: For The Sake of Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-telling of a few moments from the episode Time After Time: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part 1 of a few inter-connected drabbles that will actually not feature the Hoduku Mouse being used by Chase but being heavily mentioned. We will see glimpses into the alternate universes and there will eventually be Just-Short-Of-Saying-It Chamiko in later installments and of course heavily implied Chack and Juya because of the alternate future where we all saw exactly what Jack decided to do to the two immortals. I mean seriously, stripping Chase down to his boxers and proclaiming him a coward due to his painted on "yella belly?" Sticking Wuya in a cheerleader outfit whilst chaining her to a wall? I know you're evil and all that, but Evil Is Kinky is just a stereotype and you kinda took it to a whooooolllleeee other level. But I digress...
> 
> Also, all chapters in the Time After Time Arc will be marked with the prefix TaT

"Chase? Wuya?" Omi asks in confusion as he and his friends come into view of the two villains.

"I know what you're thinking, we still have issues," Wuya, looking at the monks, doesn't waste time in bringing up what she considers to be one of her biggest feats yet. Then her gaze shifts up admiringly at Chase and she gives a light smile, "but we've patched up our differences for now."

Chase looks down at her with a smirk. He has his own reasons for making this temporary alliance, of course, she doesn't know that, nor do their enemies. But Chase needs to demonstrate to the Xiaolin Monks, Omi in particular, just how powerless they were against him. "You might say we're staying together for the sake...of evil."

Both Chase and Wuya then look at the cats. "Jungle Cats, entertain our friends." They then start walking towards the vault to grab the Wu while the monks are distracted by the Jungle Cats. Chase uses his super strength to break open the vault door and gestures for Wuya to grab the Wu while he stays by the door. The Heylin witch cheerfully skips inside and starts grabbing the Shen Gong Wu she particularly liked.

Chase watches his cats tear into the young monks and mentally tells one black panther to be careful where he claws at Kimiko. He doesn't need to be distracted by any accidental cuts that would show more than he was used to seeing of the young dragon. He just needs to make sure the monks feel properly pathetic so that one of them will take the quest to go back in time.

The last hidden letter and box that he had found from Dashi, had come with the specific instructions to not read the letter until he had been defeated by someone highly unexpected, just after the Heylin Eclipse. Originally, he refused to follow the orders his old friend thought he could give him from beyond the grave, but then he thought about it some more and decided it was in his best interests to follow through.

It's now been a week after the Dragon of Fire defeated him in the Showdown for the Cannon Blaster. He read the letter that very night, and spent the rest of the week making a plan. The letter, really just a reminder letter in case he had lost or destroyed the very first letter, had claimed that one of the monks would freeze himself and Dojo so they could travel 80 years into the future to retrieve the Sands of Time. Then that Xiaolin monk would go back to the day Wuya was defeated, and stay for a few days so that he could change a small, yet integral part of the past.

And Chase had been waiting for this moment for the past 1500 years. The day he had found Dashi's first letter and learned that there was only one way for him to ever become Xiaolin again, without the balance being severely uprooted. He had tried his best not to let it show that he had moments where he regretted drinking the soup, and had plunged himself headfirst into evil to help stave off the guilt. And considering many on both sides hail him as either the Heylin Prince of Darkness or the Emperor, he likes to think he succeeded. He also prefers being called Emperor since it implied he wasn't in the market for a queen and was more than happy ruling by himself if you don't count any possible apprentices.

So yes, he has to make sure one of the monks felt pathetic enough to try to go back in time and stop him from drinking the soup. He wants a second chance as much as the next person, and he admits that the Heylin lifestyle was getting a little boring. And the fact that he wouldn't remember a thing besides the fact that the Hoduku Mouse that would eventually activate was a fake, would be a plus. He could focus on fulfilling the prophecy made about him without worrying about making sure he didn't miss a day of his Lao Mang Long soup. Which meant his other crutch, the Hoduku Mouse would no longer be in his possession and he wouldn't use it for every little thing that goes wrong. Chase could truly become the greatest warrior of all time without those crutches.

After Wuya finally leaves the Shen Gong Wu vault, Chase teleports the both of them and all of his cats back to his palace. He then shoos Wuya away while he uses his All Seeing Eye to watch the young monks. He doesn't have to wait for long to hear and see what he wished to see. The Dragon of Wind is the one to inadvertently give the Dragon of Water the idea. And Omi immediately grins in a way reminiscent of his days on the Heylin side.

"Well, well, I look forward to seeing you again in the future, and then in the past." Chase murmurs to himself with a light grin. He knew it shouldn't take too long for young monk to work out the finer details of his plan. He just hopes that he won't actually freeze himself for too long, Old Omi does need a Young Omi to exist after all.

As the Heylin Dragon waves his hand and shuts off his All Seeing Eye before joining the Heylin Witch for dinner, he wonders what would happen if the Dragon of Water stayed missing for all those 80 years that Dashi mentioned. Surely, the upset balance wouldn't be too bad? Maybe Spicer would join the Xiaolin again to help balance it? Maybe he's also finally be rid of Katnappe or Tubbimura? If he's particularly lucky, perhaps all three and LeMime.


	7. The Hunt Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old evil is awakened, Omi gains three new friends at the temple, and the Mantis Flip Coin, Two Ton Tunic, and Eye of Dashi all reveal themselves. Retelling of Episode 1 with a bit of Chase before he uses the Mouse to erase the meeting from having happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this one is quite a bit longer than all the others at nearly a whopping 2.5k words (excluding the Author's Notes and summary of course.) Okay, so ships are ahead. Chamiko flirting, could be considered one-sided and definitely a bit out of character. RaiKim, noted in-fic to be a crush on at least one side. Chack, mostly just fanboy adoration. Whatever the ship for Wuya and Dashi is, simply mentioned as a woman scorned. Also, an OC I've been thinking of implementing makes an appearance. Not sure if I'll ever write her full story for this due to the nature of the story. But if anyone asks, I won't object to writing up a little drabble about her and posting it on my blog.

He's trying to figure out what to do with his newest toy when he senses a chill descend upon the land. The handsome Heylin warlord looks away from the spear he stole from his old friend a few days ago and his eyes stare up into the mosaic ceiling as he tries to pinpoint where the chill came from. He knew the feeling well, having been the cause of quite a few new or old evils awakening in the past. But Chase Young doesn't recall planning for that recently. He's on his break still after the last time he came out to play with the Xiaolin monks or just cause chaos in general.

True, there already was a Xiaolin Dragon in Training at the Temple, and somewhere out in the world were three others that were awakening one by one. But the monk at the temple was a child still and would need a few years more before he had a chance of winning against Chase, so the Heylin monk chose to extend his vacation instead and fight his old friend Guan a couple hundred times and research more magic. And now...a chill in the air that he didn't plan for? That means he hasn't been paying attention and all four Dragon Apprentices have probably already been gathered...well, three Dragon Apprentices. Chase could sense that there was a female Apprentice, but no females had ever become a Xiaolin Monk in all the 50 or so generations that have passed.

He could never understand why the Xiaolin Masters had chosen to do it that way, but out of a sense of honor, Chase tried to stay away from the untrained female Dragon Apprentices in earlier years. Of course, there were times when he couldn't help himself and instead recruited the girls into the Heylin side and made them into members of his Jungle Cat Warriors. But he hasn't done that since he found Rosella a few centuries ago, a former Dragon of Wind that was better at magic than martial arts.

Finally, Chase places where the chill came from and uses his All Seeing Eye to determine exactly who or what caused it. He's heavily surprised when he sees a red-haired and eyed teenage boy introducing himself to a purple ghost calling herself Wuya. On the floor, he sees the puzzlebox the witch had been trapped in for the past 1500 years. He smirks to himself and begins to chuckles, though he soon starts laughing whole-heartedly. Eventually he stops laughing and looks back at the All Seeing Eye.

"So, the  _great_  Heylin witch Wuya has finally come back, has she? And it's all thanks to this 'Jack Spicer.' Rosella, remind me to thank the worm for helping fulfill the prophecy." He glances to his right and the tiger he addressed bows her head in acknowledgement of her orders. He then gets a shiver he hadn't expected to ever feel. The revealing of a Shen Gong Wu. He frowns as he realizes Dashi, another old friend, must have cast a spell on him long ago so he would know when and where a Shen Gong Wu activated. He isn't sure how he feels about that since Dashi knew his opinion on those toys. "The Mantis Flip Coin has surfaced..."

_Shall I retrieve it for safe keeping, Master Chase?_  Rosella the tiger questions, rising to her feet and prepared to gather a small force should he command.

"No...we'll let the monks and this Spicer fight over the Shen Gong Wu. I am still on my vacation. Though perhaps I'll visit them later to learn who they are exactly."

A few hours later of watching the two groups fight over the Mantis Flip Coin and the Two Ton Tunic, Chase decides that with the reveal of the Eye of Dashi, the third Shen Gong Wu today, it's time to meet the monks and the Heylin's newest recruit. So he packs away the Hoduku Mouse in it's usual spot in his right gauntlet, and teleports to the place he remembered the Eye of Dashi being hidden. He waits in that tree for 3 hours before the people he was waiting for finally arrive. The monks choose to ignore the strange man in the tree until they notice his fingers playing with the Shen Gong Wu they came here for. They quietly debate amongst themselves before the female of the group steps forward.

"Uh, excuse me, can we have that...necklace? You see, it belonged to my  _okaasan_  and I lost it here earlier today. It took me a while to remember where I left it, you know? So if I could just have it back, that would be nice.  _Ne_?" She says, not even noticing her slip into her native tongue when she mentioned her mother and said 'okay'. But Chase notices immediately and can't help the small grin.

"Not only are you the first female the Xiaolin Temple has accepted, but you are the first  _Nihonjin_  to join the Temple in the past 400 years. It's nice to see a fellow countryman, or in your case, countrywoman." Yes, Japanese Dragon Apprentices were few and far inbetween because of that country's pride; not to mention there was that period of isolation from the world at large early in the 17th century. Chase notes that the little dragon, Dojo, seems to be trying to remember something, which causes him to wonder if he ever mentioned his half-Japanese background to the dragon when they first met 1500 years or so ago. He's also happy to see the confusion in the eyes of the new Xiaolin monks, that meant they weren't taught about him yet. Excellent! Their reactions will be unbiased then.

A loud shriek tears the Heylin Dragon from his thoughts. He spots the latest Heylin recruit, Jack Spicer, practically falling with every step towards him. Chase raises an eyebrow when Spicer finally reaches him and immediately hugs his legs and kisses his boots. Well...that was an unexpected reaction. Finally, Spicer speaks with a high-pitched voice barely containing all his excitement. "Omigod! It's Chase Young! I'm your biggest fan!"

Wuya, that old ghostly hag, is utterly confused at Spicer's words and loudly questions what's so good about "some hotshot" she's never heard of before. The monks each nod a bit, wondering the same thing, but unwilling to speak at the moment. On the other hand, Chase is taken aback at the knowledge that the hag doesn't remember him. Was she too distracted by the man who spurned her, to notice the people he had at his side during that final battle? "Wuya, I'm appalled. You don't remember me helping to seal you away in that puzzlebox that your new henchman solved? I admit, I did dress differently 1500 years ago, but I know my face hasn't changed all that much, even if I did let my hair grow out."

Everyone's reactions range from shocked to sudden remembrance. Spicer stands up and joins the rest of the people there in staring at Chase's body. He can only guess each of them are wondering if he's lying, though he sees that the female monk and Spicer nod appreciatively. He sees the Brazilian mouth the words "1500 years" in shock before he frowns heavily when he notices the Japanese girl nodding. After a long moment of silence, Chase considers tossing the Eye of Dashi at the child that looks remarkably like Dashi, only with a rounder head, but instead chooses to throw it at the cowboy. "Anyways...I've only come out of my citadel to see the new forces of Heylin and Xiaolin. As the worm here squeaked, my name is Chase Young. And who might you all be?"

He waves a hand out in the general direction of the monks, but Spicer grabs it once it's close enough and shakes it vigourously. "I'm Jack Spicer! Evil Boy Genius. I wrote an article about you that was published last month in Evil Weekly!"

Chase's face, which initially is one of disgust when the fanboy grasps his hand, quickly turns to curiousity as he remembers reading that article in particular. "Oh...you, yes, well I'm sure we can talk about that later over some tea. This happens to be one of the only times I'll be able to speak with the Xiaolin Monks. So if you could leave-"

"Gotcha, CY! You don't mind if I call you CY, right? Don't mind me; me and Wuya will just be on our way. Do you need my address? Oh, who am I kidding, you're more of a genius than I am, you could figure out where I live in seconds. I'll be waiting for you~!" Spicer interrupts before flying away on his helipack and happily muttering about having tea with his evil hero. Wuya soon flies away as well, leaving the monks, Dojo, and Chase to stare awkwardly in the direction they left.

"Huh, I didn't think I'd be able to get rid of them so easily. I'll have to keep that in mind. Now then," Chase turns his gaze back to the young monks and turns up his charm as he gives the Japanese girl a stunning smile, "I believe introductions should start with the lovely girl who has decided not to let her natural raven black hair shine. Though perhaps that's the latest trend in beauty as I see your teeth aren't blackened. Have I really been away from Japan for so long?"

She giggles and lightly blushes before giving him a short bow. "Tohomiko Kimiko. And it's a wig, all the girls wear wigs like this or dye their hair now. Some even wear contacts that change your eyes to any crazy color you could imagine. No one's really painted their teeth since the Western occupation of Japan."

Upon seeing the Brazilian begin to growl, Chase makes sure to be extra charming and compliments the Tohomiko girl. He can see the beginning of a little crush there and mentally makes a note to take full advantage of that crush in the future. "I see, then you must be wearing contacts as well. Or are you of Ainu descent? I don't recall ever seeing a Japanese woman with such beautiful blue eyes."

"Hey! She's only a kid, you old dinosaur!" The dark skinned and green-eyed boy claims, standing in front of Kimiko. She immediately frowns at her new teammate and mutters, unknowing that Chase had super hearing, that she is fourteen and would like to continue to practice flirting with the handsome stranger that gave them the Eye of Dashi.

"Forgive me, I didn't know she was spoken for. And who are you?" Chase replies simply after taking a step back.

"Raimundo Pedroza, and I'm not speaking for her, I'm just protecting her from a creeper." Raimundo crosses his arms in front of himself and frowns deeply at the Heylin Warrior.

"I think the lil' lady can protect herself well enough, Rai. Would she have come to the temple otherwise?" The cowboy defends Kimiko, who sends him a grateful smile, before tipping his hat in greeting towards Chase. "Name's Clay Bailey and I'm from Texas, Mr. Young."

Texas...why does that sound so familiar? Oh yes! There were quite a few Shen Gong Wu hidden away in the deserts that became known as Texas in the past few hundred years. "I see...here's a tip for you then, expect to visit your home often during the next few years. Dashi didn't make all the Shen Gong Wu that he and Dojo hid. And the creator of a Shen Gong Wu will  _always_  know where it is, no matter the distance."

"Much obliged. Thank ye for the Eye of Dashi by the way."

"I have no need for such crutches, they are yours to use as you see fit." Chase responds before turning to the Dashi look-a-like. "And you, young monk, care to introduce yourself?"

"I will tell you nothing!" The child immediately replies in a loud accusing voice as he pointedly turns away from the Heylin Dragon. "I may not be as down to day as my new friends, but I do know that anyone featured in the magazine Evil Weekly is on the Heylin side and therefore not to be trusted!"

There's silence as everyone tries to figure out two things. One, what was meant by "down to day" and two, whether the boy's words were true considering that Chase had said he helped seal away Wuya. Eventually, Chase walks up to the child. "First, the term is up-to-date. Second, Evil Weekly publishes articles about members of both the Xiaolin and Heylin side. In a few weeks, I fully expect to be reading about you four and Spicer in your hunt for the Shen Gong Wu. Third, you need not tell me anything...Omi. But it is considered polite to introduce yourself."

Omi slowly turns to face the tall, black haired man. "How do you know my name?"

Chase smirks. "Omi, Dragon of Water. You are an orphan found under the magnolia tree in the Xiaolin Temple. None of the monks are certain how you got there without anyone noticing anything until you began to cry for food. For the past 12 years, you've lived and learned at that temple and were frequently told you were  _a_  Chosen One, but you instead heard  _the_  Chosen One. Your friends are also Dragon Apprentices and therefore chosen to be Dragons one day should they finish all their training. Clay Bailey, Dragon of Earth, ever stable and always there to hold your hand. Raimundo Pedrosa, Dragon of Wind, likely to betray you like so many of his kind before him. Tohomiko Kimiko, Dragon of Fire, her very presence at the temple foretells many great things in the future, and she will more than likely outlive you all."

He chuckles at the reactions to this words before continuing. "You need not tell me anything, little one. As Spicer said, I am very resourceful. I only wish some of you would remember this little encounter." His eyes stray to the Dragon of Fire. Dashi's letters claimed she would be important to him eventually, though he never said how, so Chase would simply have to wait to find out. She would make a rather fetching cat...

"What do you mean, remember?" Kimiko asks with suspicious eyes. He smirks at her before taking quite a few steps back and activating his hidden Shen Gong Wu to return to just before he made the decision to come meet the monks. "Hoduku Mouse!"


	8. TaT: Tā mā de

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omi's missing for the past number of years, having frozen himself and Dojo in order to travel to the future. During the years, Chase has grown lax and simply trusts his cats to take care of any intruders. Which is exactly what leads him to losing his secret weapon and what allows Jack to finally rise.

He was the type of guy, that doesn't curse unless something goes horribly wrong. Friends and enemies alike would then be confused when he finally cursed up a storm, but ever since Chase gained control of the Hoduku Mouse, he's been able to fix things that went wrong. After 1500 years, if anyone besides Chase Young tried to count how many times he's cursed, they wouldn't be able to remember a single time. But he would remember every time, and he will always remember every time.

Most recently, he remembers when he inadvertantly caused the death of Tohomiko Kimiko. The last time before that, he had been thrown into the Ying Yang World with only one of the Yo-Yo's and Omi and his friends had the other and had already left with their one Yo-Yo. Then there was the time he managed to get Omi on the Heylin side, but gave him too much power and was overthrown. But he had always been able to fix such things with the mouse Dashi left to him.

That was, of course, before Spicer broke into his citadel- _again_ -when he was in the bath and found the Hoduku Mouse sitting on Chase's bed. Normally, the worm wouldn't dare get anywhere near that part of the citadel, and in fact, both Chase and his jungle cats have slowly lessened the security against Spicer. Chase always knew when he had a guest, and whenever Spicer was that guest, he let his cats take care of him, and they had become prone to "playing" with the boy genius before throwing him out. Which is why he had been enjoying himself with a nice long soak in one of his hot springs.

When he finally leaves the spring and teleports back up to his room, sans towel around his waist since he doubts anyone would enter his bedroom when the door was closed, he throws on some underwear and loose-fitted black pants before he realizes something is missing. He tries not to panic as he quickly searches around his bed for the missing Shen Gong Wu.

"SPHERE OF YUN!"

Suddenly, Chase finds himself surrounded by an impenetrable bubble for the second time in his life. He looks toward the now open door to his room and sees Spicer there with the Sphere of Yun in an outstretched hand. The boy's face is obviously confused as he enters the room, but Chase can see the resolve behind his eyes. He comes to a conclusion quickly and frowns as he settles himself into a more comfortable position in the sphere. "So...the worm thinks he can try this again and win? I will admit the execution is better this time around."

"I know about the mouse, and I know you've been using it to make sure the world is to your liking." Jack answers as he steps closer to his idol.

"Then you must also know that if you release me and return to me what's mine, we can pretend this didn't happen." Chase reasons, knowing that the instant he gets the mouse, he'll just use it to return to earlier in the day. Reminding himself of how much of an idiot Spicer is, is what stops Chase from cursing loudly and losing his cool.

The albino gulps before straightening his stance and speaking firmly, "actually, you won't. I've already used it a few times. You tried to kill me to get it back. You would do anything to have it back. But now I have it, and I have you. I can finally rule the world. You won't get in my way, and neither can cheeseball since he's been missing for the past few years."

Chase then realizes that even if he did get free, the instant he went to retrieve the mouse, Jack would use it. He would rely on it as heavily as Chase did in past years. For one of the first times since he became the Heylin Prince of Darkness, Chase is actually worried about what the future could bring. And he's unable to stop it. So he does the next best thing he can do. He curses in his native tongue and hopes the Xiaolin monks free him in time. "Tā mā de..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhh, just a note, the last thing Chase says, it's a simple Chinese curse word.


	9. Off to Russia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dashi created most of the Shen Gong Wu, but Chase made the Crystal Glasses, and he was curious about which side would gain the advantage of such a powerful object.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is kinda short, sorry about that, but the idea didn't really extend past what is written. Instead, my mind drifted off halfway through and decided to write the very final chapter of this series

He hated the cold. That's why his citadel was surrounded by lava and always warm. It's not that he was weakened by the cold, though his noted True Form would beg to differ. It's just that Chase had never been fond of cold weather, and grew to hate it even more after he drank the Lao Mang Long soup. If it weren't for the Crystal Glasses being activated, a Shen Gong Wu that he  _highly_  regretted creating, then the Heylin Dragon would be at home. All bundled up with a nice cup of tea. Or maybe in the hot springs. Just anywhere but here.

Hell, he was only here because he wanted to see firsthand who would win the Wu he made shortly before he learned about the prophecy saying he would become the greatest warrior the world had ever seen. Dashi had confiscated the glasses not long after they were made, saying that sometimes, the future should not be seen. That had been one of the jokester's rare moments of seriousness. Of course,  _now_  Chase knew why he hadn't been allowed to use the Wu he made, but it was because of Dashi doing that, that Chase had sworn off Shen Gong Wu...until he got ahold of the Hoduku Mouse of course.

Then, he just had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was hiding in a shadowy corner near the glasses, waiting for either the monks or Spicer to show up. For a moment, Chase entertains the thought of wearing the glasses and seeing what the future has in store, but he decides he would rather get there first and then use the mouse if necessary. That is, until Spicer's latest robot slams its fists into the ground near the monks, throwing them every which way. The Dragon of Earth lands on him and he immediately growls for the big guy to get off.

As Chase catches his breath, the monks make quick work of the robot and send it flying after Spicer. Then the Dragons of Wind, Water, and Earth work together to get Spicer. Only the Dragon of Fire decides to check on "the innocent bystander," which makes Chase scoff.

"Hey...are you okay? Sorry about Clay's Texas-sized butt."

"I'm fine. Shouldn't you be helping your friends?" Chase questions when he sees Omi fall into Clay's arms. Kimiko turns around and sees that her friends are waving her over so they can chase after Spicer.

"Well, I'm just glad you're okay. I'll be going now...hey, how old are you? Do you live around here?" She starts to jog off before turning around and asking her question with a small smile.

Chase blinks disbelievingly. Was she...flirting? Did she somehow remember the first time they met even though only he had held onto the mouse? That's impossible... "No, I'm here on vacation, I live in China. And I'm 22, how old are you?" Well, they weren't technically lies, he is on vacation and he was 22 when he stopped aging.

She proudly grins, "I'm turning 16 in April. I live in China too, maybe I'll see you around. Bye." She waves and dashes away to her friends.

Chase watches them leave before shaking his head. That was not how he planned to introduce himself to the monks. He was supposed to leave them in awe of his power. Not get squashed by their largest member and ignored because he wasn't deemed important compared to Spicer. Well, that's what the mouse was for, for fixing his every little mistake and making him look good. "Hoduku Mouse!"

Now, he's back to the moment he arrived in Russia. Instead of entering the building, Chase uses a small glamour to hide himself just outside the Russian palace. He watches the events unfold again and harrumphs when Spicer runs away from the intimidating Russian with barely a fight. He can tell there's something about this "Vlad" that the monks haven't noticed yet, and he's admittedly disappointed none of the young dragons have noticed it. But he's not here to train the monks, he's here just to see where the Crystal Glasses end up. And he's discovered that, so it's back to his warm citadel for Chase and out of the freezing Russian air.


	10. TaT: Jungle Cats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His cats were warriors, true, but they were also the only friends he had over the many centuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I'm a bit of an idiot, I only just got the joke for why Hannibal was in a caged marked "Musical Fruit." You see, there's a lovely little song about beans. Beans, bean, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot. Beans, beans, they're good for your heart, the more you eat, the more you fart. Of course, that's not the full childhood rhyme, just a few lines from each verse. Oh! One more thing, just to make things perfectly clear, my jungle cat OC, there's no romance for her...well, that's partly a lie, but the romance is in her past, before she met Chase. I'm just making it clear in case someone reads through this and thinks I'm shipping them. I'm not.

He can tell when his fanboy has just come back from using the Hoduku Mouse. One minute, he would be taunting Chase, then he would suddenly gasp and look wildly around as he pants heavily. The first time that happens, the trapped Heylin warlord dares to tease him with a sneer.

"What? Can't handle the power?"

Those words quickly bring the self-proclaimed evil boy genius back to his senses. "I don't know how you got out in the future, but I'm gonna figure it out and stop it."

After that, Chase knows he will find a way out. He thinks about it over the years whenever Spicer would return with a shuddering gasp. He waits and waits for some signal from anyone. One day, nearly a decade after Omi disappeared, the new holder of the Hoduku Mouse pauses mid-taunt before smirking widely. Without a word, Spicer leaves the prison room and doesn't return for the rest of the week.

At the end of every week, the albino used to offer Chase a place by his side, ruling the world. And the Heylin Dragon would have such fun using the whole week to come up with a new way to say no. His personal favorite so far is, "the day I join you, is the day I crawl into bed with Dojo and join the Xiaolin." But Spicer doesn't do that this week, instead he drops by for a few minutes and mentions how his plans are working and he would soon have the Xiaolin monks joining him in a jail cell.

During the next week, he eventually notices that among the many jungle cats he kept, that would keep coming in and out of the room where Chase was kept, there is one missing. He begins to question his warriors about the whereabouts of the missing tiger. They never answer him and instead just gave him his daily soup. After weeks of not receiving answers from the cats that should be answering to him but instead answer to Spicer, he finally asks his captor about the missing tiger.

"What did you say it's name was? Rosella? Yeah, that one's gone forever." Spicer grins and bounces on the balls of his feet.

"What. Did. You.  _Do_?!" Chase growls. She was the last Dragon he turned to the Heylin side. She was a friend like all the rest of his warriors. But she was also the one he would rant to after every disastrous use of the mouse. And she was the one he normally left in charge of making potions in his lab for his use.

"I pitted your little tiger against the others until it died. I found out how you kept getting free, the monks would slowly free your cats from my control, and then they would all work together to stop me. But not this time. Nope, I've decided to start replacing your cats with something more trustworthy, robot cats! It's perfect! That way if you ever somehow get freed, you'll have no backup." Spicer laughs maniacally and Chase has to restrain himself from attacking the sphere wall.

That insolent worm is going to kill his cats? It took him centuries to collect all those worthy warriors for his army! And nowadays the soldiers you find just aren't the same as they were 500 years ago. What is he supposed to do when he finally gets free and needs to replenish his army? He would have to start turning the dragon apprentices again. Four new warriors every 20 years...if he is lucky, if his current luck continues though, maybe he'll turn one monk every two or three generations.

He has to get out, but how? Spicer was turning out to be a worthy opponent. "When I get out of here, the first thing I'll do is have your precious robots kill you. Slowly. Then I'll use my magic to revive you just enough to put you through your torture again." Chase growls venomously, thinking about his poor warriors, his only friends during the centuries. They probably won't even get a proper burial, but at least they'll go out fighting.

Spicer laughs patronizingly then. "Chase, my old evil idol, you don't understand, you've lost. The only way you're getting out of here, is when I've figured out a way to keep you powerless without it. Then you're going to the torture cells I've been spending the last few days drafting out. And then when I capture the Xiaolin losers, they'll join you! Hey, villain to villain, how do you think I should torture Hannibal when I catch him? I'm thinking I could trap him in a cage and put a sign next to him with that song about beans being musical fruit."

The Heylin Dragon ignores Spicer then, and continues to ignore him during the weeks that follow. Instead, he silently mourns each of his jungle cats that slowly cease to return. Then, one Tuesday, his peaceful day is interrupted by the arrival of a new prisoner. A Xiaolin Dragon. He watches with half-lidded eyes as Spicer offers her a chance to rule by his side as a Queen since he's now proclaiming himself the Prince of Darkness, and claims every Prince needs a Queen.

Her voice turns all sugary and sweet as she coyly begins her answer, making Spicer believe that she just might join him. "Oh,  _Jack_ , you know I'd rather things not be like this. It's such a terrible world you've created, I just...I _wish_  I could be out there with you. That way...I CAN PUMMEL YOU INTO A BLOODY PULP!" Her voice suddenly grows harsh as she yells the last bit. Chase stiffles a laugh at the scene, and returns to pretending to be asleep.

Spicer leaves soon after. Chase opens his eyes fully, only to see the Dragon of Fire watching him from across the room in a cage. They stare at each other, unsure if they should say anything. They are prisoners together, but they've also been enemies more times than not. Eventually, the courageous little Xiaolin is the one to break the silence. "Chase, nice to see I was right about your capture and that you weren't working with Jack willingly."

"Perhaps if I had paid the worm a little more attention, I wouldn't be in this position, Kimiko." He responds, saying aloud something he had begun to suspect. Perhaps if he had just made Spicer his apprentice and kept him in control, the boy wouldn't have captured him. "So," he drawls, "how did the Xiaolin's esteemed leader end up captured before the Betrayer?"

She rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Rai's not like that anymore and I wish you'd stop calling him that."

"Believe me, he will eventually turn Heylin yet again. Dragons of Wind always do eventually. Now, storytime? There's nothing better to do."

"Only if you return the favor with a couple stores about how you got captured and why Jack doesn't seem to have realized why the jungle cats are out of commission one day a year." At his nod, she sighs before beginning her story. "Well, it all started when we noticed robot cats mixed in with your jungle cats..."


	11. TaT: Never Fooled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though it's been nice to chat with someone besides Spicer, there's just something not quite right about Kimiko...

"You know, you owe me a story, Chase." Kimiko reminds the warlord after a few days of her capture have gone by and he still hasn't told his story.

Chase on the other hand, closes his eyes. He had been released from the Sphere of Yun for now, so Spicer could test his serum to make the dragon weak. The serum seems to be working at the moment; Chase can barely stay awake, much less plan an escape. He notices a sweet smell in the air and realizes that he can still smell Kimiko's perfume. Strange, considering how long she's been captured and the fact that he hasn't seen her reapply it. "I owe the Dragon of Fire a story. I'm not so sure you're her."

"What? Of course I'm me, you idiot! Who else could I be? Hannibal has the Moby Morpher still." She replies indignately.

"You do look like her, sound like her, and smell like her. But your acting is a little off." The only times the Dragon of Fire ever started a conversation with him in the past, were when she had no idea who he really was and simply saw a handsome stranger that happened to be nearby during a Showdown. Ever since he revealed himself to the monks and they learned exactly who he was, any conversation he had with her, was started by him addressing her as a group. But ever since this Kimiko's embarrassing capture, he hasn't had to start a single conversation with her.

"Not to mention the details of your capture don't seem like you." A plan gone wrong was always more of the Dragon of Earth's forte. Running in without a plan was also more generally applied to the Texan. The Kimiko Chase knew after ample usage of the Hoduku Mouse, wouldn't have failed a showdown that showcased her very flexible body. And even if there was a chance of her losing, she wouldn't have bet her freedom for a simple Shen Gong Wu, even if it was the Taho Snout and could have helped the monks track down their missing monk.

"And I would have expected Spicer not to be so foolish as to leave me here unattended, even if I am weakened." Spicer is a fool, but Chase doesn't believe the worm is that foolish or idiotic. Either he was watching them even now, or he had someone invisibly stationed closeby. Judging by the lack of any other scents besides his and Kimiko's sakura perfume, and the fact that Spicer still doesn't know any Heylin magic and so can't create a scentless golem, he must be watching via a camera. And Chase's prison buddy was always staring at him.

"Chase, you've been here so long, it's getting to your head. I  _am_  Kimiko. How can I prove it to you?" She signs heavily.

He doesn't respond for a few minutes, thinking hard to figure out a way to settle this for good. Something he could say, that the real Kimiko of this timeline would know that any fake wouldn't know. He assumes Spicer knows about the time she pretended to be the worm, why else would this possible fake be wearing the same perfume. Oh yes, no one else knew about the time he met the girl on her own and didn't use the mouse. "When did we first meet?"

Of course, the question has multiple answers, as he has "first met" her quite a few times. But the first time that she should remember, she hadn't seen him until he left, so he had decided not to use the Hoduku Mouse that time. Kimiko gives him a skeptical look before crossing her arms and answering him. "Chase, I know you're old, but I didn't think you were senile. We met when Jack found the Monsoon Sandals, and when Master Monk Guan had traded Dojo to you for his spear back."

Chase grins and leans back on the bars of his jail cell before closing his eyes. "It's been nice talking to you Spicer when you aren't gloating or taunting. Do give the real Kimiko my best when you fight them again."

"I AM the  _real_  Kimiko."

"No, you're just another robot of Spicer's. I admit, he's gotten better at it if I can't even see the seams of your parts connecting, and the fact that you've gotten better at imitating the personality of someone. Now run along and tell your master I'm not in the mood for his games. He won't be getting any secrets out of me."

Despite not looking, he can tell the instant the Robot-Kimiko gives up on the charade. He can hear the sounds of cracking and breaking metal. And he can hear the slamming of the prison door as Spicer stomps his way over to his cell. Spicer impatiently taps his boots against the floor, waiting for Chase to pay him mind. But like he said, he's not in the mood right now for games, so the Heylin warlord yawns loudly and asks that Spicer turn down the lights and close the door on his way out.

70 more years of waiting for Omi to reappear. Teasing Spicer this way might get old eventually, but Chase sure won't. Eventually Spicer speaks up, "I will find out why your pathetic cats all knock out that one day. And I will perfect this serum to keep you weak, Chase."

"You're welcome to try. I'll even give you a hint. Ask the monks."


	12. Do I or Don't I?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Night of the Sapphire Dragon, Chase was busy mentally freaking out, although only one person was witness to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two days before I submitted this chapter on FF.net, I finished a fanart for the ship Chamiko, here's a link: http://fav.me/d6rkpc7

"Rosella!" Chase yells as he stomps into the kitchen where said tiger is in human form, brewing his daily potion. Honestly, he was quite happy with her presence, since it meant he would spend less time brewing potions and more time practicing his fighting forms.

She looks up from the small cauldron as she answers, "Yes, Master Chase?" Then she returns her watchful eye on the simmering pot and brushes a lock of her dark hair out of her brown eyes.

"I dropped by the temple to somehow let them know how idiotic they were about thinking the Sapphire Dragon was really a Black Dragon. I found the Dragon of Fire walking towards the apprentice bedrooms with said dragon in hand, and decided to tell her that the Shen Gong Wu was not all it seemed, and to just hide it away and forget about it, but I stayed hidden in the shadows, and even used a glamour to help hide myself." He folds his arms behind his back; left on top of right. He was ready to use the mouse, but he didn't, not yet.

"Then the monks will throw the Sapphire Dragon back into a volcano?" Her voice is confused. She is used to him coming into her kitchen often to complain about this or this after using the Shen Gong Wu he has hidden in his sleeve. She hardly ever asks questions of him. She'll ask about the people in his rants, but never ask about him unless he was being an idiot or silently asks her to do so.

"I don't know, right now, I don't really care. I just...she saw me. At the last minute; when I teleported back home. She's not supposed to know me yet. None of them are, but the monks needed someone to tell them of their foolishness." He frowns heavily and then stares at her, waiting for her to realize his unspoken question.

A few minutes of silence passes, where she slowly stirs the potion counter-clockwise, and then adds a pinch of nightshade. When the potion turns the appropriate color and can safely be looked away from, she does so and directs her gaze to her master. "Does she know your name?"

"No. I said my piece and left."

"Did she see all of you, or just your face or your armor?"

"It was dark, I think she only saw my face. Maybe just my eyes."

"Would you be able to do it again without getting caught helping?"

"Maybe if I left a note, but no."

"Do you mind that you were caught?"

"I'm not sure."

She nods slowly at his answers. They all tell her that he really doesn't need to use the mouse, but he is addicted to using it. Hence why she has to brew him a sleep aid every day, that way his unconcious mind has to deal with and sort through any timeline differences. But she knows what he's really asking. It's not, "should I use the mouse," it is really, "for what reason should I not use the mouse?"

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Finding her inner power, she activates it. Against the lids of her closed eyes, she sees a picture form in blurry shapes and colors. The general shape of her master and the Dragon of Fire. They're separated by something, many long and narrow, grey somethings. Then muffled voices begin to ring in her ears. She tries to make out what's being said, even as her head begins to pound from the sights and sounds. Soon, she catches a few words. First. Met. Monsoon. Not her.

Then the pain grows too much for her. She loudly groans and bends over, feeling faint from the drain on her energy. After a moment to compose herself, she opens her eyes and looks up at her master. She knows her eyes have changed color. They always do whenever she uses this power; they turn gold like her master's eyes, but they always return to normal after a few hours. Even so, because of the pain, she tends to not use it.

"Master..." She gasps, before taking another deep breath and speaking again. "I believe, letting her know at least your face, before you introduce yourself properly, can only help you."

"Thank you, Rosella." Chase grins at her and begins to turn around to walk out, when he remembers something, and turns his head back towards his loyal servant. "I won't be needing that tonight. Feel free to take it and have a few hours to yourself."

"Yes, sir, thank you, sir." Rosella bows her head and returns to attending to the sleep potion, still a tad out of sorts.

Chase frowns in her direction before continuing his walk out of the kitchen and towards his bedroom. He won't be having a dreamless sleep, but perhaps it's for the better. He hasn't slept without that potion in a few months, he's almost forgotten what it's like to not already know how a dream will turn out.

And she does need it more than him right now. If nothing else, Chase always took care of his cats. Even when they weren't presently a cat.


	13. Not According to Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guan meets up with the monks and brings Dojo to Chase's citadel, forcing the Heylin Dragon to use the Mouse to prepare properly for his guests. His plan to meet the monks ends up being forced to be take place earlier than he planned. Then nothing else seems to really go his way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Names mentioned in this chapter, some are real people, others aren't as far as I know. Zwehei is real, though not much is known about him. Princess Pingyang is real and completely awesome. Despoina, if she is real, is not any Despoina of legend or myth and was simply chosen due to the need for a Greek woman to be a "mistress of the house." ...In this case meaning a caretaker when the master is away. Chapter's kinda long, 2.5k without any Author's Notes. Hints of ships and Kimiko being a smart-aleck. Hey, how about a game, review with the ships you see teased and I'll tell you if you're right :P

He wakes up from his meditation a short time before dinner, solely because of the people he can sense just entered his territory. Calling up his All Seeing Eye, he quickly realizes that his guests would be old friends; Guan and Dojo. He frowns then, knowing his kitchen isn't currently prepared for the little dragon. With nary a thought, he reaches into his right sleeve and grasps his Shen Gong Wu. "Hoduku Mouse!"

With a start, Chase returns to a few hours earlier and rushes to the kitchen. He finds Rosella curled up in a corner, happily napping in her tiger form. He nudges her awake and she rises to her four paws before bowing her head and silently asking what he needs. "We'll be having guests in a few hours, grab any of my warriors that can cook and bring them here. Then inform my generals to lead three separate teams. One team is to go out for shopping, we're feeding a dragon for about a day and a half. Zwehei will lead the patrols, make sure he knows to return when our guests are spotted. And don't forget about guarding the citadel. I will remain here and get started on cooking what we already have."

He exchanges his armor for an apron as he speaks. When he finishes, he looks expectantly at his servant, only to see her having already made her way for the kitchen door and leaving as he finished his orders. Fifteen minutes later, when Chase is about to start kneading dough for buns, Rosella returns with six of his cats. With a snap of his fingers, they all return to their human forms and grab aprons from the closet. He directs them all to start on different foods.

Seemingly randomly over the course of the next few hours, the Heylin monk would suddenly stop chopping something or look away from a watched pot just to rush to one of the ovens or other stoves and either lowering the fire or pulling out whatever dish was in the oven. Rosella began to silently count how many times this happened and would mentally start calculating how much of an extra dose her master might need at the end of the day.

Soon, Chase trades his apron back for his armor again, and picks two at random to return to their jungle cat forms. "You two will serve the food and clear the dishes. The rest of you, continue cooking. Rosella, I won't be sleeping tonight, but tomorrow when our guest leaves, be sure to have a double dose ready. Our guests should be here soon." When he says that, a black panther arrives at the kitchen door and bows his head. Chase doesn't need to hear the words to know Dojo and Guan are but a few minutes away.

He grins and returns to his bedroom for the Spear of Guan. He then teleports to the main staircase just inside the entrance to his lair. He greets his guests graciously, sends Guan on his way with his spear, watches Dojo devour the meal laid before him. The best way to keep his old friend distracted, was to keep him eating. And since the dragon arrived much earlier than expected, Chase knew he would be supervising him for a while. Hence why he has a team of cats going back and forth between the store and the kitchen, and another team still cooking. The food just has to last until a Shen Gong Wu activates. It doesn't even matter which.

Chase is in the middle of yet another cup of coffee, when Dojo and himself both sense a Shen Gong Wu activate. The Heylin Dragon smothers the feeling as well as he can. Two hours previous, the little dragon finally spilled the beans about the monks and he made sure to act properly surprised. They both soon make their way to the location of the Monsoon Sandals. Chase keeps them hidden from view with a glamour until he deems it an appropriate time.

The spell breaks unexpectedly when Spicer falls on top of him. He growls and throws the boy genius off of him. That wasn't how he planned this day to go, so with nary a thought, he used the mouse to return back a few minutes. He stands elsewhere this time and is about fallen on top of, this time by one of the monks. Everything time he uses the Hoduku Mouse, a little something would go wrong and he would mutter angrily before using it again. Eventually, he stays by a rock until Spicer uses the Sandals. Then he times it so that he catches the pretty teen. He introduces himself, he stays charming even when he notes that he has a reputation and looks straight at the monks, the fire dragon in particular. He can see that Spicer isn't the only one "fangirling" as the internet called it. Though the young Dragon is keeping better control of herself. No matter how many times he meets the group and robotics specialist, he is always intrigued by the obvious fact that he's appealing to both sides of the eternal war. He's still not sure if he should take advantage of that, but right now, he's leaning towards it for Spicer. Maybe he would grow more competent if he had a reason?

Then he gets into a fight with Omi that he initially loses thanks to a lack of sleep. So he redoes it, memorizing every spot the young water Dragon would aim to hit. Omi then manages to hit Chase a little too close to home. Chase falls to the ground, spewing any angry words and nonsense that make him feel better. "For the love of evil! Ye gods, why are you so freaking short? I did not redo this day a thousand times just to be felled by a little one with an ego bigger than mine! Mother...dang...FUCK! I thought I was Heylin, you're not supposed to fight so dishonorably, midget. Ahhhhh, owwww, ow, ow, owie, itai, tā mā de, tā mā de, tā mā de! That's it, you're off my apprentice list and going on my kill list. I'd rather deal with Spicer's clumsiness than this. Chikuso!"

Spicer stares at his evil idol writhing in pain, his mouth in dropped in shock, not sure which he believes less. The fact that Omi would kick a guy in the crotch, or the fact that he was hearing something along the lines of becoming his idol's apprentice.

Clay and Raimundo are torn between laughing hysterically and cringing from imagining the pain Chase must be in from the low-blow. On one hand, he is apparently evil, stole Dojo, and so deserves anything he gets. On the other hand...no guy deserves to be hit in the family jewels.

Kimiko is covering her mouth with her hands. She may not completely understand why it hurt to be hit there, but she does now realize how much it must hurt if a calm and collected guy like this Chase Young would drop to the ground from what looked, to her, like only a grazing blow.

Omi is beside himself with guilt and apologizes profusely while bowing his head. Once upon a time, he remembers training with Master Fung and accidentally hitting him there. He was grounded for a week. He wasn't even allowed to walk on his fingers! He did learn his lesson from that, of course, he just didn't think to recalculate his trikes for this new, taller enemy.

When Chase is finally done cursing loudly in three languages, and when the pain has finally died down enough for him to not focus on it, he slowly stands up. He takes a few deep breaths and collects himself again. "These words will mean nothing to you in few minutes, Omi. But while you can, remember this, and fear it. What you have done, no matter how accidental, is something only the vilest of those on the Heylin side would commit. Those like Hannibal Roy Bean. I have decided at this point in time, that out of everyone here today, you would be the most likely to turn Heylin. So I will actively turn you so, at a later date, just so I can kill you once you're helped me rule the world."

He nods and winces as bit as he takes a step back, disappearing from view of the suddenly angry Xiaolin monks and Spicer. He returns to his citadel, sans Dojo, and appears in the kitchen. Trying to keep his voice steady, and his face straight, he orders Rosella to stop cooking and instead make him some pain medicine. Heylin magic was never reliable when it came to healing. Sometimes it worked, but it usually didn't. That's another reason he kept a few magic users, Heylin magic and Xiaolin magic and Neutral alike, in his army. Rosella has a mastery of neutral magic and so her healing spells almost always work, unless a person is on death's row.

She rushes to a cabinet and takes out her strongest pain medicine. After administering it, she calls upon her magic and asks her master where she should direct the spell. She's worried, she admits, he never needs healing anymore unless he had been training with her fellow warriors. When he tells her, she nods with a light blush, and follows through with orders.

Ten minutes later, he's fully healed and uses the Hoduku Mouse to return to the second Omi and he starts fighting again. If he had used the mouse before he was healed, he would have still felt phantom pain and would have been unable to concentrate. He knew this thanks to a similar, but in his opinion, less painful situation a few hundred years ago when he fought Guan and came out, victorious, but with a nearly severed arm.

Chase is much more careful this time when he fights Omi. He doesn't even take any chances when the monks attack him all at once. The memory of intense pain, has admittedly put him off from proper fighting for a little while, at least in his human form. He knew his gonads were better protected in his True Form, so he decides that when the little monks come to retrieve Dojo at his lair, he'll fight in that form.

Later on, when the young monks and his old friends leave his citadel, having won the showdown for their freedom, he's about to leave the training room when he spots a crumbled piece of paper that hadn't been there 5 minutes ago. He picks it up and a weak scent of sakura enters his nose. So the female monk decided to litter in his palace? How rude. He's about to throw it into one of the scones when he notices writings.

His curiousity got the better of him and he un-crumpled it before reading, fully expecting a love letter to the dragon of wind, or something trivial like a shopping list. That's not what he finds. For one, besides his name, it's written in Japanese. He can tell by the kana next to kanji, better known as hanzi in Chinese.

_Chase Young, thank you for warning me about the Sapphire Dragon. I know you're evil and all that, but I thought I should still thank you, even if you were just making sure that the "monks you were hearing all about" would still be around when you decided to finally show yourself. One more thing, thank you, for keeping your word._

_-Tohomiko Kimiko, Dragon of Fire_

When he finishes reading, he crumbles up the paper again and puts it in his pocket. That's when Rosella chooses to appear with his sleep medicine, having been told earlier to give it to him as soon as his guests all left. He holds out a hand for the vial and isn't immediately handed it.

"This is only a double dose, despite how many times you've used it today, if I gave you any more than this, you would be asleep for weeks. Instead, with this, you will only remain sleeping for two days. When you wake up, if you're still feeling the effects, then I can give another dose. My suggestion is that you try not to use it for a week and remain in bed for a few days." Rosella says.

"Fine, then Zwehei's in charge of patrol and you're in charge of the kitchen and making sure no one disturbs me. And tell Despoina to command the citadel as a whole." He snatches the vial from his servant and drinks it right there and then. He begins to walk off to his room when he feels the effects of the potion activating twice as fast as normal. With a snap of his fingers, jungle cats appear from nowhere to catch him as he falls dead asleep.

"Yes, Master." Rosella responds to her asleep master before commanding her fellow warriors to take him to his room while she finds the two generals he mentioned. Zwehei, son of Princess Pingyang, and the First Tiger as he's known amongst the Jungle Cats. And Despoina, an Amazoness that found her way here on Master Chase's 167th birthday, known as the First Black Panther amongst the Jungle Cats. The first of any species of cats their master turns them into, becomes a general in his army, and commands all the cats below him or her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done a bit more research into the name Despoina, apparently, it's one of Persephone's many names. I just find that funny XD Also, the curses all mean more or less the same thing, but "itai" is how the Japanese say "ow."


	14. TaT: Omi's Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time After Time, Part 5, Chase waits...and waits...and waits...then he finally gets to stop waiting.

80 years passed without Chase really noticing. He stopped counting the days when the last of his cats died. At that time, Spicer had mastered a device to weaken him. So he had been let out for that day; being forced to watch Spicer's Robo-Cats tear into his last Jungle Cat that he recognized as Zwehei, his very first one. It made sense for the now-grown evil boy genius to kill off his cats in backwards order, but Chase was pretty sure he didn't even realize what he did.

After that day, he was hooked up to another power draining device that attached to enclosed his hands and feet. He was allowed to keep his clothes, thankfully. And he was in a chair. But his head was forced to look at the windowed ceiling while a drop of water would occasionally fall on his forehead. He could try to count days, but the water torture kept distracting him and made him lose count often.

He never saw Spicer in person after that. But he saw Spicer's Robo-Jack whenever he was allowed to eat, if that's what you call having a funnel put in your mouth while soup was poured into it. He also saw the monks occasionally, as they crawled on the windowed ceiling during any one of their attempts to raid the palace Chase once called home, but has since become Spicer's base of operations.

Chase did remember the day each of the monks was captured though. Mostly because those were the few days he had been freed from his binds and the Chinese water torture. The day Clay Bailey was captured, he had been free for all of two minutes before he felt a tiny pinprick in his neck and fell to the ground. When he woke up, his armor was gone, as was his chair. His limbs were still bound, but now there were the only thing holding him off the ground as water still dripped onto his forehead.

He had no clue how much time had passed before his next rescue attempt. When Raimundo Pedrosa was captured, Chase was freed for nearly ten minutes before they both fell thanks to a poison gas Spicer released into the room they were trapped within. When he next awoke, coughing from the poison still in his system, he discovered his shirt missing. And he was upside down. With a paintbrush mechanically brushing yellow paint against his stomach. Water now dripped on the back of his head.

With his only view being either the tiles of the floor, or Hannibal Bean in his cage, Chase spent most of the time staring at the floor and wondering what the point of the paint was in Spicer's mind. He had thought he was hallucinating the day a tiny Kimiko Tohomiko appeared in his sights and tried to gain his attention. No alarms had sounded. Hannibal still snoozed away. And Chase noticed that Wuya had joined the Heylin Prison Room, though he had no clue when and mostly wondered why Spicer would put her in a cheerleader uniform.

The tiny Dragon of Fire climbed up to his ear and told him her plan while asking if he knew anything that would help them escape. Still out of it from the drugs Spicer has him injected with using the mechanical gauntlets surrounding his hands, he managed to tell her about how he was being kept here and why he believed all previous attempts had failed. One of the gauntlets gave him his Lao Mang Lone soup through a hidden IV. The other hid an IV that gave him Spicer's special Weakening Drug. She immediately climbed into the gauntlets and tried to figure out which had the drug. When she figured it out, she broke it from the inside. Ten minutes later, Chase regained enough of his strength to break free from his bonds and the two of them ran.

They were eventually caught, of course, since Chase still wasn't up to his old strength and now didn't even have his Jungle Cats to fall back on. But the thrill of escaping reminded him that he just needed to wait a little longer. He managed to get some information out of Kimiko during the 45-minutes they ran around the citadel and hid in little shadowy corners, trying to get to the other monks.

Apparently Kimiko was the last to be captured, thanks to her ample usage of the Changing Chopsticks Shen Gong Wu. Even their Master Fung was trapped somewhere in the prison. And though Chase refused to admit it, the look on the now aged dragon of fire's face when he told her that he wasn't sure about the exact location of her friends, made him immensely sad. And when he noticed the hearing aid in her ear, he tried his best not to let his sorrow show, his sorrow at the realization that he even if he could fix this, it would still eventually happen.

He had grown...attached to the monks. And seeing even one of them in such an aged and weakened state, with only the barest remains of her previous dignity, well, it made him curse Spicer. Yes, he had wanted to win, to rule the world, preferably with at least one of Xiaolin monks at his side, but Chase wouldn't have broken them like this and then let them live. No, he would keep the ones he couldn't turn, as hopeful as possible, only breaking them when they were no longer amusing or useful. And he would have found a way to keep them all in the prime of their youth like Guan. He would rather an enemy that could still fight back, than an enemy that had to use all of his strength to deliver even a weak punch.

Then Spicer finally caught them when they found her friends. The Jackbots shot Kimiko with a single tranquilizer, and shot him with as many as they had. When Chase woke up, again back in captivity, the only difference this time was that he was only in his boxers. And Spicer had Robo-Jack waiting for him to wake up. Chase learned why everyone was being kept alive. He was waiting for Omi to come out of hiding and was tempting the round-headed monk by keeping everyone alive. But the instant the child appeared again, even in rumors, all of his old friends would be taken to the games to fight for their lives. And when that was over, if Omi still didn't appear to save his friends, Chase would be taken there too and could finally join his beloved cats.

Chase tried to keep an arrogant face during the rest of his 80-year wait. He fought against the sleeping side-effects of the drug. When the rumors of Omi's return finally began circulating, Chase knew he could finally stop waiting. And when Hannibal called his attention to the "Blast from the Past," Chase couldn't help the smile on his face. "I'm pleased to see you after all these years, Omi. I always knew our paths would cross again." Chase told the Dragon of Water, not even bothering to hide his smile.

"Our paths will cross again. But this time, much, much sooner." Omi replied, thinking that only Dojo had any idea what he meant by his words.

_One could only hope_. Chase thought as as he watched the reunited monks make up a plan. Finally, after nearly 1600 years, his greatest mistake could be fixed. And without any major consequences. After all, Dashi's letter had said  _Guan_  would take his place on the Heylin side, and Guan has always been weaker than him. It would be a piece of cake.


	15. Mala Mala Jong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mala Mala Jong was an accident the first time when he was created, a pest when Wuya later on rose him from his sleep, and then a test when it came to the new monks.

He's meditating when it happens again. A terrible chill down his spine, alerting him to a new evil on the field. He frowns heavily and stops levitating. The Heart of Jong had activated not long ago, and though it was powerful, Chase thought there would at least be a few days until Wuya revived his creation. Last he checked, the monks had the boots and the shroud, which were both necessary. But this chill...it tells him Spicer must have either won those Wu or stolen them from the monks when he hadn't been watching.

He calls for a bowl of his soup as he gets up from the floor, and sits in his throne a short distance away from where he had been levitating. He calls up his All Seeing Eye and prepares to watch the young Xiaolin monks face their first true test of strength and cunning. He doesn't count the night the Sapphire Dragon activated as a major test of the monks. He knew then that the only one of the monks that could have saved them would have been the Dragon of Fire, but he also knew that they wouldn't have been able to do a thing to his first creation if it was released, which it ended up being.

He can't interfere at all today. He shouldn't. And as one of his cat warriors brought him his Lao Mang Lone soup, he told himself that he wouldn't. Not unless the monks all fell to Mala Mala Jong's power. Technically, Chase didn't even create the Heylin Demon, he just accidentally found out what would happen if certain Shen Gong Wu were combined. But the demon called him father, which was the only reason they were able to defeat him without the Emperor Scorpion, which hadn't been created until the second time Mala Mala Jong rose. That time was thanks to Wuya learning about the demon. And if the monks failed this test, he could fix things without revealing himself, unlike the time with the Sapphire Dragon.

Chase had made quite a few Shen Gong Wu that he trusted Dashi to hide away along with the knowledge of who created it. He made the Sapphire Dragon in a fit of rage against Wuya, not long after the second incident with Mala Mala Jong, not expecting this new Wu to turn against him. Dashi and Dojo had been out hiding the Emperor Scorpion and the Heart of Jong at that time, but Guan and Chase had luckily managed to put it back to sleep before their master returned. And when he did, Chase bowed to him and told him a dangerous Shen Gong Wu had been made and needed to be throw into a volcano as soon as possible and then forgotten. Dashi had promised to keep the knowledge of who made it, to himself, not even Dojo knew. And Guan would keep silent

Yes, he had made many mistakes over the years he trained under Dashi. Which only made him all the more curious about why his teacher hadn't used the Hoduku Mouse since that was one of the first Shen Gong Wu Dashi made, even though no one but Dojo even knew about it's existence for a number of years. And Chase had only found out about when the mouse was made, many decades after it fell into his posession thanks to yet another of Dashi's letters.

Through the All Seeing Eye, Chase watches the reaction of this Master Fung, the head of the Xiaolin Temple this time, to the knowledge of the hag witch having the Heart of Jong. He harrumphs in contempt when the master claims the Heylin Demon's awakening would be the end of life as they knew it. It was true, of course, but the fact that the Xiaolin Master  _still_  hadn't even mentioned Chase Young, Heylin Emperor of Darkness, to his students, was driving said man a little batty. All the previous Masters before this Fung had made sure to mention him at the very least within a week of the arrival of new apprentices. So far, the only thing about Fung that Chase could respect, is that he didn't refuse admittance of the female monk to the Temple.

Although, at times, the Heylin warlord did wish the young dragon of fire was still free game for him to turn. Her skills could be put to use as one of his cats, maybe he would have even made her the first of a new breed. A leopard or cheetah perhaps? At this point, if she ever became one of his cats, she was more likely to become a lion. He's currently extra fond of lions.

He watches as Fung sends the young monks away in anticipation of Mala Mala Jong's arrival. He frowns, that won't do. How is he supposed to test the monks when they aren't even there? Should he manipulate things to bring both parties together? He has half a mind to, until he sees the newest Dragon of Wind try to stay behind. He laughs then.

A misguided sense of pride like that has turned quite a few young dragons to the Heylin side. As he smiles at the thought, he wonders if he should appear now, just to get to the boy, or if he should leave it to Wuya to turn him. He didn't particularly need a new Dragon of Wind for a slave. But he did want at least one of these new dragons to serve him...no, no, not this one. If he snatched at this opportunity, he doubts snatching the Dragons of Water and Fire would be as easy as Raimundo was making it.

He'll will let Wuya teach the boy his lesson. It should be amusing. When Chase sees Omi defeat Mala Mala Jong, he decides to go for him first. His ultimate goal is to turn all of the dragons this generation, and he always starts with the most powerful or the most prideful. It's just his luck that this time, both are one Dragon of Water. He sighs a bit as the monks split up the Shen Gong Wu that made up his accidental creation, it's too bad the Dragon of Fire was currently in need of the most training by the monks. Having her by his side, he'd probably be able to shed a few layers during the upcoming winter since they were natural furnaces.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >_> So, uhh...I kinda just realized what I implied with that final line and I'm really not all that bothered by it. But I feel like writing a happy one-shot where Kimiko is Chase's personal space heater....nah! I can't write happy things.


	16. Walking History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've lived through some of the world's most important discoveries of history. His Jungle Cats are Walking, Talking History...history that occasionally comes back to haunt them. (Timeline: S1EP3, Showdown)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^_^ I shall start this note by saying that the word count on this chapter is a very nice number. 1,111. By the way, since I have yet to mention this in the story and at this rate probably never will, Rosella is gitano, which is a type of gypsy normally in Spain. Oh! And did you guys know that the year 2005 is actually mentioned in the show during Season 3 of Xiaolin Showdown? So that kinda puts a date on when it takes place, huh? Maybe I can figure out birthdays for everyone then?

"Has your kerchief been lost?" He leans on the open doorway frame and looks over his servant. She looks more or less the same as she did some 500 years ago when he got her. Red and white mourning clothes from her culture. The only thing missing, is the white lacy cloth she normally uses to cover the top of her head. For once, her hair is braided back instead, and the cloth is no where in sight. Chase finds it curious.

He's lived 1500 years, and not once have any of his slaves changed up their attire in all the time they've been here. Zwehei still wore his rich silk robes that he wore the day he became Chase's slave. Despoina still wore her Grecian gown, and her hair is always in the exact same style, even the ribbons she uses are traditional instead of modern. Every single one of his slaves, they kept to their traditions as strictly as they could. When their traditional clothes became too worn to wear, they would ask that he use magic to give them a duplicate outfit or to restore the clothing to their original form. They all seemed to revel in the past and did their best to remain as walking fragments of history.

Now, after returning via the Hoduku Mouse after watching the Dragon of Fire gain the Golden Tiger Claws, he comes to the kitchen to retrieve his daily sleep aid. And he finds that one of his servants has changed her attire, ever so slightly. He wonders if he should take it as a sign that his spells aren't having the same effect anymore that they used to. In the end, he decides to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. Unless she says something...compromising. "Rosella?"

She's obviously started at the sound of her name and turns around to face him. Now he's worried. It's one thing for one of his cats to have a lazy day and not be dressed to their usual degree. It's entirely another for them to be so distracted, especially during a dangerous activity like potion-making. "M-Master Chase? I...I thought you were visiting the monks, I...I...your potion isn't ready yet, another ten minutes, please.  _Perdóname_ , I expected you...later." Her head is bowed respectfully as always, but there's something in her voice that he hasn't heard for many years. At least not from his servants.

Anxiety. Fear. Stress. Hopelessness. Sorrow.

Chase walks up to her and places a hand on her head. He thinks hard while petting her bound hair and lightly scratching her head, despite her currently human form. He knows she doesn't mind it, after spending so much time as a cat, she and the others gain a small bit of comfort when he does this. She quickly relaxes under his hand, and he soon realizes what the problem is as he remembers what her culture used clothes like the missing kerchief to represent. "503 today, isn't it? I hope you haven't been letting today distract you from your duties."

"No, sir...I was just caught in my memories of today." She replies slowly, now practically shrinking under his hand.

He sighs heavily. "You know I allow everyone to take the day to themselves when a day like today comes up. Death...is always a heavy burden. You had that vision today, centuries ago, and knew from then on that you were a widow. But you didn't collapse and wish to die. Instead you took my lessons to heart and trained so that when I returned for you, you wouldn't put him to shame."

He watches her become more withdrawn at his words. He frowns, knowing he's always been bad at comforting someone, but not having expected to affect her to the point that she would feel even worse. He pats her head then. "Go see Despoina, you're relieved from your duties for the next 24 hours. If I find you anywhere near the kitchen in that time, you're to be punished. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, Master." She bows to him, he returns her to her tiger form, then she runs off to find his Third General, the first of his black panthers.

Chase is left staring at the small cauldron, where his daily potion happily simmers. He has never actually asked Rosella about the recipe for this potion. He only started using the powerful brew when she became his slave. Before that, he simply used many doses of a normal sleep aid. After gazing at it for what was probably what was left of the earlier mentioned ten minutes, he washes the potion down the sink and reaches into the cabinet for a few of the low-grade version that doesn't need to be made fresh everyday. Grumbling, he realizes he should have ordered her to finish the potion first.

He drinks two of the vials he grabbed, immediately upon leaving the kitchen. Meandering his way to his room, he sips at a third vial, wishing it took effect faster. As he walks, he spies Rosella and Despoina. The matronly black pantheress is comforting her younger "sister" and growling about the uselessness of men. He notices that they have a small audience, mostly of lionesses, with a few tigresses and pantheresses, and one or two males. He quickly turns around and decides to sleep in his throne room instead, it's further from the kitchen, but also further from the women in his employment.

It seems Miss Tohomiko isn't the only girl today to feel terrible. If he were a thousand years younger, Chase would have made a comment to them about it being their times of the month all at once. But he's not that stupid anymore. Especially around female warriors, he knows that is a sensitive subject and to never bring it up under penalty of death. Besides, even if all the women in his life or involved in the never-ending Heylin-Xiaolin War are all at once emotional, it's not his business. Although...the Dragon of Fire did seem particularly upset today. If he wasn't currently waiting for his medicine to kick in, Chase had half a mind to invisibly watch her once again. This time without getting caught...again.

He had overheard something about a bet the Dragon of Wind had apparently won. Chase finally reaches his throne room and immediately drinks the final fourth vial of the sleep aid. Curling up on his throne as the potion finally begins to take effect, his last thoughts are that he should discover what type of bet it was if it could make the young Tohomiko so angry during the bet, and happy at the conclusion.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase's Generals think it's a bad idea, but still they will trust their Chessmaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used a doll-maker to design Chase's Generals "fav.me/d6xr2nb" Link leads to DevArt

"Master, are you sure this is a good idea?" Zwehei asks. Despoina and even the normally silent Kitwana, Second General and First Lion, voice similar concerns. Chase's generals are obviously confused, but they don't know what he does. This is necessary. Like he will tell Spicer later in the day, even if a plan is sound, it all depends on the execution.

His main plan, is to turn one of the Xiaolin Monks to the Heylin side like Hannibal did to him all those centuries ago. He's introduced himself to the monks, castled himself and made sure that he left enough of a mark on their minds that they were beg their master for his story. They took the first bait, without even knowing that they were in play, now Chase needs to set up to trap himself as the next bait.

He's shown them that he is all-powerful and that they were only walking free because of his honor. Now he needs to make them believe he's on a lower pedestal than he really is on. Make them believe that if they're clever enough, they could win against him.

"I admit it's not my fondest idea, but it is the best one if I am to bring the young monks to the Heylin side. Kitwana, Despoina, take your underlings and hide in the prepared caves until I send someone to retrieve you. Zwehei, leave the weakest of your tigers here with me, and then go join the other Generals." Chase commands before reaching for his daily Lao Mang Lone soup. He already has a can of it tucked away in his armor, along with a mug to drink it from.

He's already lived today twice, the first time he returned to today with the mouse, he had even lived a few extra days, so he knew what to expect. He knows that this trap for the Dragon of Water would work. It already had once, and would again. As he sips his soup, he frowns as he remembers the sole reason he used the mouse a second time despite everything working according to plan.

He must have been too tamed-looking in the last timeline. Too approachable. Because the Dragon of Fire had been hesitant to leave. When she noticed Omi following along a tad too slowly for her liking, she turned around and gently pushed him ahead of her to follow their friends. But when she did that...she looked at Chase for seconds too long to be a chance glance. He could tell that she wanted to say something, so he put on a sneer and told the both of them to hurry along before he thought up a way to make them stay behind as new additions to his pets. Her expression was what prompted him to immediately use the mouse. He didn't need any distractions.

He sighs heavily, causing his Generals to look at him. Rolling his eyes, he speaks. "Didn't I give you lot your orders?"

"Yes, Master Chase, but we were wondering..." Zwehei's slow and precise words are cut off by Despoina's more hurried words. "Won't the worm gain control of your trump card? What if he uses it?"

"Taken care of, I sent one of your tigers off to hide with it, within a barrier that will only break with her power and my own, combined." Though Chase struggles not to show his unease at the Hoduku Mouse being away from his side for the first time in years, he knows his Generals can tell. They are the ones he keeps closest after all, if by now they couldn't read his emotions as clearly as glass, then they weren't very good underlings. A good general knows his soldiers, and the best general also knows his king.

That's why no one had ever won in a serious battle against his jungle cat army. Because it was a machine so well oiled, that he barely ever had to give orders, his Generals knew his orders already, knew his wishes, and went after them for him.

Chase watches the lion, tiger, and pantheress share looks and silently question who was entrusted with their master's secret weapon. He enjoys the look of realization they all have, and barely suppresses a chuckle at Despoina's dumbfounded face. If not his generals, who else who he trust, after all? Only four of his cats knew exactly what he normally kept hidden up his sleeve, the rest only knew that he often seemed to see the future. Chase knew most of his cats were convinced he simply had the power to travel through time on his own, and he would simply  _hate_  to have to correct them.

Suddenly, a chill runs down his spine. The Shen Gong Wu of the week has just revealed itself, causing Chase to practically hiss his words."Be gone from the citadel within the next few minutes!"

"Oh  _Chaaaaase~_!"

Another violent shiver rushes through his body at the sound of the Wuya's voice gets closer. He's content to see his cats have dispersed in the time it took him to shiver. "What. Is. It. Wuya?" He asks just as she appears in his line of vision.

"The WuShan Geyser has revealed itself. I'm sure such a  _clever_  man like yourself could find  _some_  use for it. Hmmm?"

Chase refrains from growling. If his permanent houseguest didn't have such a grating voice, she could almost be easy to live with. After all, as a ghost, she can't eat him out of house and home and can't leave a mess everywhere. Instead of growling or frowning, or showing his distaste for the woman, he grins. "Yes, I do believe I can come with something. Erasing a person's memories can be quite handy."

As Chase teleports them both to the general location of where he remembers the Shen Gong Wu being hidden, he swears he hears Wuya wonder how he knew about it if she hadn't mentioned what it did or where it is. His grin is a bit more sincere when he realizes the hag is still oblivious to the fact that they fought on opposite sides initially. He can't wait to see her face when she realizes he helped trap her in the Puzzle Box 1500 years ago.


	18. What Mistake?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omi's trip to the past wasn't as a mundane a memory to Chase as he would have thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, part 6 of the Time After Time arc~! With Xiaolin Chase~! Ehem, anyways, to those that celebrate winter holidays, Happy Whatever-You-May-Celebrate-Whether-It-Be-Abrahamic-Or-Pagan-In-Nature! And to those who don't celebrate a winter holiday, Happy Gimme-Presents Day! Oh, and to everyone following the Gregorian Calendar, Happy New Year!

"Where did you learn Repulse the Monkey?" He questions, trying to keep his voice accusatory and harsh, but knowing his confusion has softened it. The boy that repelled him, with the very move he created, is so similar to Dashi, that part of Chase wonders if he belongs to the man. After all, Master Dashi was already long-lived long before he took in Chase and Guan as students. Who knows what the man has done on his frequent getaways from the War? He seems young...no more than twelve, then again, he could be a late bloomer judging by his skills at martial arts.

"From you. 1500 years from now." The Dashi look-a-like points at Chase, who quickly realizes what his words mean. Just as Chase is about to be overcome with the fact that he will still be alive in more than a millennia and will in fact be a teacher as well as a Xiaolin

Dragon, the two of them are cornered by three of Wuya's rock golems. The child quickly destroys the one closest to him, while Chase disposes of the two after him.

Smiling gently, Chase kneels down next to the boy. "It's strange...but I feel as though I know you."

"You do! It just hasn't happened yet." The round-headed child half his height, grins at Chase, as though suddenly realizing just  _when_  he traveled to. Chase assumes this boy,  _his future student_ , must have used the Sands of Time without explicit permission. Why else would he have immediately attacked him upon realizing who he is? Chase decides he must be a hard teacher in the future, and more than likely still prone to randomly attacking his friends for an impromptu spar.

Chase ducks his head as a golem's head flies towards them. He forgot there was still a battle raging around them. He can question his future errant student later. Right now, there are more important things they need to do, like defeating Wuya for the last time.

A few hours later, he finally gets his chance and corners the boy, who has by then introduced himself properly, in the dining room. Chase decided earlier that this interrogation should be kept to as few people as possible, hence why he has made sure that Guan and Master Dashi are no where nearby. "So, little one, how did you manage to arrive here?"

"Oh, that's easy. The Sands of Time." Omi says, quickly getting over his initial nervousness at something. If Chase didn't know any better, he would say Omi was afraid of him...then again, he supposes it wouldn't be too unbelievable to be afraid of your master's younger self. There are bound to be some major differences between simple Dragon Apprentice Chase of now, and Master Xiaolin Dragon of Wind Chase of the future. Chase frowns a bit, he hopes the Chase that teaches Omi 1500 years from now isn't a mean-spirited jerk.

"I see...and I'm sure you made sure to ask permission before using such a powerful Shen Gong Wu."

"Uhh...well, you see..."

"I'm listening, young monk." Chase cuts in with a raised eyebrow and his arms crossed in front of him.

Omi turns his head away with a small frown and mumbles something that sounds like a comparison between the Chase of now and of the future. Chase grins lightly, apparently his habit of calling people young or little continues into the future and annoys Omi and his friends. Omi then turns his attention back to the man keeping him in the dining area. "I am in the middle of a very important Shoku Warrior task! I am allowed to use what I need to, in order to complete my task."

_Shoku Warrior?!_  How old is this boy? Neither Chase nor Guan are Shoku Warriors yet, and in fact, Dashi is in the process of testing them for it. For a moment, Chase is taken aback. Such a young and powerful boy...is it really Chase's destiny to become the most powerful warrior of all time? How can it be when this child exists...or will exist in 1500 years?

There's silence between the two, where Omi realizes he must have said something wrong, and where Chase wonders about the future. Eventually, Chase manages to find his voice again. "How...how old are you and your friends?"

"My friends?" Omi gives Chase a curious look, not understanding why Chase would desire such knowledge. But Chase has to know. One day he will teach these children, and they...they will surpass him. "Clay, the Dragon of Earth is eighteen."

That's a good age, Chase decides. He's twenty-two now. A four-year age difference isn't too bad.

"Kimiko, the Dragon of Fire is seventeen."

Wait, what? A female? And she's  _younger_? Well, okay...just by a year, that isn't too bad either, besides, girls mature faster, so that kind of makes sense.

"Raimundo, the Dragon of Wind is sixteen."

They just keep getting younger! And as the Dragon of Wind, Chase must focus more on training him. So it also makes sense in a way, but by the gods, Omi better just be a late bloomer and not actually as young as he appears. Omi doesn't speak a while, thereby prompting Chase to make sure he didn't fall asleep or get lost in thought. "And you, little one?"

"I...I do not know. I was found under the magnolia tree of the Xiaolin Temple when I was a baby, and since then, I've lived with the monks for nearly fifteen summers."

So he is a late bloomer, and he was raised in the temple...well, that makes Chase feel a bit better about himself. After all, there's only so much a child can do in a temple before insisting he take part in the regular temple activities. Especially when that temple is dedicated to training warriors for the never-ending Xiaolin-Heylin War. "I see...I have one more question before I release you to continue with your task."

Chase takes a moment to mentally word his question just right. "I assume that sometime in your fifteen summers at the temple, you've learned about the prophecy about me becoming the greatest warrior of all time?" At Omi's slightly hesitant nod, Chase continues, "tell me this, in your time, does it come to pass?"

Omi doesn't immediately answer, and something in Chase begins to worry. Minutes pass before Omi finally opens his mouth to answer, but Chase holds up a hand to shush him before he begins. "Nevermind, Omi. I should have realized what a delicate question that was. You need not answer. If Master Dashi or Guan ask, feel free to tell them I'm taking a walk. I'll be back shortly."

Chase all but runs out the temple. So he won't become the greatest warrior... He'll be immortal, but so will Guan if Omi's initial reaction to him is anything to go by. The boy slipped and called Guan master! Chase should have realized it then. Yes, he'll teach the boy his signature move, but he won't be his master.

While Chase takes a long walk into the forests surrounding the temple, he is confronted by Hannibal Bean and given the Lao Mang Lone soup. For an hour, he thinks about the Heylin Demon's offer while Dojo tries out a flimsy card trick on him, failing every time. It's tempting...very tempting. If he drinks the ancient potion of the dragon, he'll lose his eternal soul and become a Heylin Dragon Warrior instead of a Xiaolin Dragon Warrior. He'll still be immortal either way. But he admits there are some things on the Heylin side, that could ensure he fulfills his prophecy.

When Chase meets up with Hannibal again, forbidden potion in hand, he's ready to trade his life away. Until the moment he takes a sip and realizes he's been had. So, Hannibal wanted to fool him? Make it seem like he was being handed a prize, only for the gold to be fool's gold, just so the legume could laugh at him?

As Chase stomps away, back to the temple, he mutters angrily. "And to think, I was willing to trade away everything I believed in. I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life."

It's only as he hears the murmured activation of the Sands of Time from behind him that he realizes just what he said. He turns around, seeing Omi and his Dojo disappear into the time vortex. His mouth drops as his last words repeat in his head. He had  _almost_  made the biggest mistake of his life. But something had stopped that from happening, more like  _someone_.

Just months before, when Dashi had hidden away the fake Hoduku Mouse, he had claimed Chase would only find out where Dashi hid the real one, after Chase had made the biggest mistake of his life. What would happen now that the future has been changed?

**Author's Note:**

> This work was first posted about a week ago on FF.net under this same name


End file.
